Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac Take Second Overall at the First Muddy Creek National

The excitement continued this past weekend at the inaugural Muddy Creek National in Blountville, Tennessee, for round three of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship series. For the first time in 15 years, a national race was held in the Southeast Region and it didn't disappoint. Team Honda Muscle Milk's Justin Barcia bested his third place last weekend in Colorado with a hard-fought second overall. Muscle Milk-sponsored GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac was also able to nail down second overall with 4-1 scores for the day.

450 Race
Justin Barcia had an exciting weekend, grabbing his best result of the season with 2-2 scores aboard his Team Honda Muscle Milk CRF450R. In moto one, Barcia nailed down a second-place start and quickly began challenging for the lead. At one point he took over the front position but was passed back and spent the remainder of the race in a heated battle with the leader, ultimately finishing in second. Barcia seized the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot award in the second moto and led for more than half of the 30-minute plus two-lap race before taking the checkered flag in second.

"I have really been working on my starts and it seems to be paying off," explained Barcia. "We have the bike dialed in right now so hopefully I can keep ripping some holeshots. Overall my pace is good and I am getting more comfortable running in front, but both Ryans (Villopoto and Dungey) are going so fast. They are just a little notch above me right now so it is going to take a lot of hard work but I just need to keep chipping away at it. I'm right there though, and am learning a lot running with them. It was definitely a great weekend to build on."

It was a tough first moto for teammate Trey Canard, who grabbed a third-place start but crashed early in the race and was unable to remount his bike until the majority of the field had passed. He was forced to stop in the mechanics area for some quick adjustments before returning to the track to finish 29th. Canard launched off the line to another great start in the second moto and was able to put together a consistent 17 laps to take third, leaving him ninth overall for the day.

250 Race
Muscle Milk-supported GEICO Honda's Eli Tomac ended the day with a masterful display of speed; his second-moto win earned him second overall with his 4-1 scores. In the first race, Tomac got a good jump off the line but came together with a few other riders, pushing him towards the back of the pack. Over the course of the 30-minute plus two-lap race, Tomac worked his way up into the top five and took the checkered flag in fourth. Tomac dominated the second race, launching off the line to take the Motorcycle Superstore Holeshot and checking out from the rest of the field to score a moto victory.

"The first moto wasn't easy," explained Tomac. "I did a little wheelie off the start and somebody came into me, which pushed me into a couple other guys. It's tough to work your way back up in this class right now and I was like 20th around the first turn. I was pushing the whole time. In the second moto, I got the holeshot and was able to run in clean air. It's a lot easier when you can run your own lines and you're not eating everyone else's dirt."

Teammate Zach Osborne grew up only 30 minutes away in Abingdon, Virginia, and spent much of his amateur career practicing and racing on the Muddy Creek track. Osborne started the day strong in front of his home crowd, qualifying fourth quickest in practice and leading in the first moto until a mistake caused him to fall outside the top five. One final hard charge towards the end of the moto left him in sixth place. In moto two, Osborne rode to a respectable fifth-place finish, giving him fifth overall for the day.

"It was pretty cool to lead that first moto for a minute, but then I made a mistake," Osborne said. "The second moto was better but not great. It's just little things here and there that make the difference between the podium and top five."

The final Muscle Milk-backed GEICO Honda rider, Justin Bogle, made progress this weekend by finishing seventh overall with 12-6 scores, which moved him into the top 10 in points.

The Focus: The American Red Cross at Muddy Creek National
In an effort to provide aid for the victims and families of the Oklahoma Tornados, MX Sports and American Honda worked to have the American Red Cross at the Muddy Creek National. The Red Cross booth was set up on vendor row beginning at 9 AM, and all funds raised went towards tornado relief. In addition, Trey Canard, who is an Oklahoma native, gave a full set of signed riding gear adorned with Oklahoma graphics for a live auction that took place at 3 PM on vendor row. Justin Barcia also participated in the efforts and donated a signed jersey; a total of $4,600 was raised from the auction.

"It has been a tragic few weeks for Oklahoma," explained Canard. "I don't think you could turn on the TV without seeing a glimpse of the destruction. I know Moore has gotten a lot of media attention but there is damage everywhere. Places like Shawnee, Bethel, Edmond, and Newcastle have seen devastation as well. We got very lucky to just have some debris on my property, but it came very close. I think the biggest thing is to find a local place to give anything you can towards the relief effort. Anything helps and it was amazing to have the American Red Cross at Muddy Creek to take donations. It is pretty awesome to live in a state where everyone can come together in a time of need and rebuild their lives and community. I am proud to be an Oklahoman."

About Honda
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. was established in 1959 and is the sole distributor of Honda motorcycles, scooters, ATVs and side-by-sides in the U.S. The American Honda Motorcycle Division is responsible for the sales, marketing, and operational activities for these products through authorized Honda dealers. For more information on Honda products, go to www.powersports.honda.com.

About Muscle Milk
Muscle Milk® Ready-to-Drink is a protein-enhanced functional beverage that promotes workout recovery, lean muscle growth, and sustained energy. Muscle Milk takes the guesswork out of high performance nutrition, delivering a precise blend of premium proteins, complex carbohydrates, functional fats, vitamins & minerals. CytoSport™, the maker of Muscle Milk®, is among the largest sport nutrition protein beverage companies in the U.S. and offers a complete line of protein-enhanced powders, shakes and bars. Muscle Milk® was named Ready-to-Drink Beverage of the Year by bodybuilding.com, Best Functional Beverage and Beverage of the Year by BevNet and Company of the Year by Beverage Forum presented by Beverage Marketing Corporation and Beverage World.